The present disclosure is directed to control techniques for image processing systems.
Many modern consumer electronics devices include image processing capability. Although implementations vary, such devices often possess a camera system to capture image data, a codec to code image data according to a compression protocol, and one or more applications that execute on a central processing unit to process the image data.
The functional units within such systems typically perform their respective operations independently of operations of other functional units. For example, a camera system may select parameters for image capture independently of the operation of a video coder. The camera system may select exposure levels and frame rates of captured data without regard for how a coder might process this data. Similarly, the coder and the application may process the image data without regard for how each other performs its respective roles.
The inventor has determined that the independent operation of image processing components can lead to inefficient operation within a device. For example, if an application consumes image data at a predetermined frame rate, a camera that generates image data in excess of the frame rate would create inefficiency within the device as a whole. Thus, the inventor has recognized a need in the art to improve operation of image processing systems to improve image quality and resource usage within such systems.